
tbe Brotherhood of lttaiu 



4Bosm 



A THOUGHT 

FOR YEAR 1903. 






The Brotherhood of Ulan. 



ROBERT MAITLAND BRERETON, C. E., 

WOODSTOCK, OREGON. 



The best perception of this relationship is from the purview 
of human origin through spiritual intuition. It eminates from 
the spiritual rather than from the material, or carnal side of man. 

Viewing man in nature from his noblest side, the Anglo- 
Saxon race finds some of the highest human thoughts expressed 
in the ancient Hebrew writings. The mind of man today, as in 
days of yore, can form no higher conception of his origin, and 
high position on earth, than these writings afford him. Behind 
some of the more or less allegorical features, there is a sem- 
blance of truth which appeals to the human heart, and intel- 
lectual sympathies hereditary in the nervous system of man. If 
man were not of a higher caste in combined spiritual and ma- 
terial creation than the beasts of the earth, where would be the 
need of those spiritual instincts which lead him ever upwards 
in the evolutionary periods of earthly life? If man is only an 
animal of the earth, of what value to him are his high spiritual 
intuitions, and the offspringings of selfsacrificing love, and of 
noblest sympathies which are unknown to the beast? The feel- 
ing, and expression of divine adoration; of loving fellow-man 
as we love ourselves; the prevailing impressions of a spiritual 
life, and of eternal evolutionary progress, can only come from 
the soul. 

Hence from the mind of the soul, or spirit-man alone flows 
the conception of man's divine origin, and of the fatherhood 
of the Great Spirit, "who is above all, and through all, and in 

3 



us all." From the material side alone flows the conception of 
the motherhood. Nature is universally represented with femi- 
nine features. Human thought, and scientific lines have mainly 
followed this material path of reasoning out the evolution of 
man in earth life. Through all the evolutionary periods of bio- 
plasms of earthly life, in forms of tadpoles, fish, amphibian, and 
mammal, Nature has mothered them in her varied nurseries. The 
human fetus during the period of gestation displays these sev- 
eral features, so well known to medical science. After a germi- 
nating period of between four to five months the human form 
has gathered the flesh garments for the awaiting human soul, 
and man's earthly life begins at what is termed the "quickening" 
period. Thus the human soul first made for eternity in the 
likesness of the Great Spirit of the Universe, becomes born in 
the likeness of the flesh for the purposes of a temporary mate- 
rial life. In this way we get the true meaning of the doctrine 
"There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body; first, that 
which is natural (flesh), and, second, the indwelling soul 
(spirit)." The belief in the immaculate conception appears to 
have no foundation in any known womb of Nature, although 
this belief existed in the mind of man in India long before the 
Christian era. It only serves to illustrate the impurity of the 
mere carnal mind. As, to the pure in mind, all things in nature 
are pure, so eternal spirit and eternal matter must be consid- 
ered pure in whatever natural form they appear blended. It is, 
therefore, unnatural for the human mind to have any belief in 
such an uncalled for miracle; and to assume that there can be 
any better process for clothing the spirit-man in earth-life than 
that which Nature has designed. For this reason the earth- 
body is described as wonderfully made, and should be preserved 
healthy and clean; because from this carnal side it is what man 



gets, through ignorance of spiritual control, his mere animal 
and selfish instincts. 

It is not possible for man to follow out from the carnal side 
the injunctions laid down in the First and Second Command- 
ments, "Thou shalt love thy Father-God with all thy mind, with 
all thy soul, and with all thy might; and thy neighbor as 
thyself." 

Nature in material form of animate life will appear unmoral 
never immoral. The human child of tender years having, like 
other animals, no perception of good and evil, is in the unmoral 
stage of earthly life. 

From the foregoing form of reasoning it can be seen how 
essential it is for man to cultivate his true spiritual nature, and 
intellectual faculties, in order to fulfill the two commandments; 
and so realize the highest form of love; and through which 
alone he can comprehend the meaning of the brotherhood of 
man. This higher perception should stimulate the parents of 
the flesh to become far better foster parents of the children in 
their earth-life, whose heritage in the past, present, and future 
is of a divine and spiritual nature. For the same reason it be- 
comes the bounded duty of the Nation to foster by united ef- 
forts the most enlightened educational methods. The children 
form the Nation's grand future in spiritual and material pro- 
gression. The Anglo-Saxon race form a fine illustration of this 
progression, since the period of the Roman conquest of Great 
Britain. What a wonderful evolution is here found in the lapse 
of 2000 years! What a far greater progress is probable in this 
land of liberty, of thought and expression, for the race ere the 
twentieth century is ended! 

From this higher standpoint we may gain a truer percep- 
tion of the meaning of the true brotherhood of man. We are 

5 



brethren by reason of our immortal nature; we have but one 
father, for we are spirits, and there is but one Great Spirit of 
the Universe. Christ truly taught "Call no man your father 
on the earth, for one is your father, and he is a spirit: He is 
my father and your father." Paul followed out this doctrine 
in writing: "We have had fathers of our flesh, who corrected 
us, and we gave them reverence; shall we not much rather be 
in subjection to the father of our spirits, and live?" Christ, also, 
taught that spirits were not born after the process of earthly 
marriage; thus clearly indicating that the true man is an emana- 
tion from the Great Spirit. (Mat: xxii, 30.) 

Brotherhood from the material side only is but a very limited 
kinship; and, hence, viewed from this point only, we find, in 
present earth-life, a great variety of religious sects, and fraternal 
associations for social, and material purposes. Man is both 
by spiritual and carnal nature a social being. The more catholic 
and humane this nature can be cultivated the happier will man's 
earthly life become. 

In the absence of this highest form of socialism, the lower 
grades prevail. Through these lower thoughts of earthly life, the 
business transactions are frosted over with the reserve of cold- 
blooded selfishness, which springs from the carnal instincts. It 
is only outside of this selfish form of business intercourse, that 
we see human nature at its best; and the "milk of human kind- 
ness" flowing. In free and happy intercourse, smile recipro- 
cates smile; pleasant enjoyment is found in speech and song, and 
real good fellowship. This good feeling was lately most hap- 
pily expressed by the president of the United States in his ad- 
dress at the Masonic lodge. On this occasion he showed the 
true manliness of his nature, and honored his high position as 

6 



president, and an ideal representative of the most progressive 
and cosmopolitan nation on the earth, by showing his sympathy 
with the spirit of brotherhood. 

The utterance of such public spirited sentiments by leading 
men of the Nation must go a long way to remove unbrotherly 
feelings and strife between the working and the operating classes 
of the country. As educational advantages and more intellectual 
forms of recreations are extended to the mass of the population, 
truer ideas of brotherhood will flourish. "Whilst all men are 
equal through their spiritual kinship, they cannot be so from 
intellectual and physical standpoints. Throughout nature we 
see the truth of this fact in unmistakable evidence. One star 
differeth from another star in glory; one tree differeth from 
another tree in form and statue?/ one flower excelleth another 
in beauty and fragrance; the diamond and the ruby are more 
precious than gold; so in man on earth is found no dead level 
of excellence in mind, or in material advantages. 

If it were not so the life of man on earth would be far more 
deplorable. There would be an all-round deadness of human 
thought and progress. Without hard work, and lofty ambition 
to succeed in his special calling, and receiving proper reward, 
there could be no development of those more gifted individuals 
who now form the ornament and pride of the Nation, and whose 
names become immortal. The world at large envies Italy in her 
divine Titian, Raffaelle, Galileo, and Marconi; Greece in her 
sculptors, her Homer, her Plato and her Aristotle; England in 
her King Arthur, Shakespeare, Bacon, Isaac Newton, Faraday, 
and Spencer; Scotland in her Burns; America in her Washing- 
ton, Lincoln, Longfellow, Edison, and Peter Cooper; Germany 
in her Goethe, Haeckel, and Mendelssohns. 



Human nature has risen through the knowledge of good and 
evil. With the prevalence of pain and sorrow human sympathies 
have been evoked, through which hospitals have nourished, 
medical science has marvellously been developed, and noble self- 
denying women have appeared as angels to suffering humanity. 

Truly men can be on an equal plane in their sense of jus- 
tice, equity, mercy, love of peace, and of country, in all of which 
can be evolved the best sentiments of material equality, and 
abasement of carnal forms of selfishness. The workingman is 
worthy of his proper hire; the gifted man of his fame and 
reward; and the capitalist of legitimate profits for his enterprise 
in the field, the forest, the mine, and the sea. 

One of the most important outcomes of the true spirit of 
brotherhood could be shown in giving greater educational ad- 
vantages to the parents and children of the working classes, who 
form the bulk of the population. By this should be understood 
a more popular expansion and diffusion of the knowledge of 
spirit and matter in nature, and of man; and of his place and 
duties in earth-life. The need for this, both in the case of the 
individual and of the Nation, is made very apparent by statistics 
furnished by the census bureau. Man and woman from earliest 
childhood to old age should be ever learning from their Mother 
— Nature; and in this knowledge of nature their intellectual facul- 
ties will be stimulated and refreshed and refined by their in- 
nate spiritual attributes. The query of the old Psalmist, "What 
is man?" is answered by him in the truest sense, if we could but 
realize it, "I said ye are gods!" 

Now, do the census returns of public education show a suf- 
ficiency of useful knowledge among the masses, by which earthly 
life can be made as pleasant, and as useful for the unit and for 

8 



the whole Nation, as should be? The following data from the 
census returns of the United States in 1899 give an unsatisfac- 
tory answer to this question. 

Per Cent 

Numbers, of Pop. 

Pupils in public elementary schools 14,662,488 19.2 

Pupils in private elementary schools 1,193,882 1.6 

Pupils in public high school grade 488,549 0.64 

Pupils in private high school grade 166,679 0.22 

Pupils in universities and colleges 103,251 0.14 

Pupils in professional schools 55,134 0.07 

Pupils in normal schools 68,380 0.09 

Total of population of 76,000,000 receiv- 
ing education 16,738,363 21.96 

A very small percentage (about 8 per cent) of the pupils 
ascend from the elementary to the high school stage. Only 0.7 
per cent enter the universities and colleges. 

The school life of the working classes is necessarily a very 
short one by reason of their early call into the arena of daily work, 
Hence the importance of making these few years as useful and 
as interesting to the children of the masses as possible, for such 
form the hives of national industry. 

Go through the common schools of the Pacific Coast states, 
for example, and note how bare are the walls, and which in- 
vite a clothing of interesting and instructive diagrams and illus- 
trations of natural objects; of national and historical records; 
and of Adam's charts of the world. Go through the normal 
schools and find how few of the qualifying future teachers of 
the public schools are being educated so as to understand many 



of the simplest laws of Nature, and to teach from natural ob- 
jects. For example, how few there are who know that the blue 
color of the sky is due to the minute particles of dust in the 
atmosphere which serve to reflect the blue or violet rays of the 
spectrum, whilst the coarser particles of dust in the air, nearer 
the earth, reflect the white light of all wave-lengths. Moreover, 
that if there were no particles of dust in the air there could be 
no clouds or rain; and steam from boilers would be invisible. 
Manifold, and simple of explanation, are the features of nature 
in air, earth, and water, and yet how little, and how seldom, are 
they related, and illustrated in the common schools of the 
country. 

In this object style of teaching much more useful and ever 
interesting information could be imparted to the rising genera- 
tion of workers in the field, in the forest, in the mine, and in 
the sea, which would make their earthly life less one of monoto- 
nous toil. As population increases these fields of the Nation's 
industry must necessarily form the main outlets for occupation; 
and, even now, every professional calling is overful of workers. 
In some of the western states, where the working community 
form so large a percentage of the population, there is clearly 
more need of public attention being directed to the furthering 
and fostering of the educational advantages in the common 
schools, rather than in the state-supported universities and col- 
leges. 

In this more popular distribution of useful and practical 
knowledge of man and of nature, there is opened out a noble 
field of usefulness to the educator, to the benevolent-minded 
capitalist, and to the scientist. The creation of more public 
parks, botanical gardens, and museums of natural objects, in the 
rising cities; together with the necessary endowment for the 

10 



proper maintenance thereof, and for the employment of quali- 
fied teachers and lecturers therein, would furnish ample scope 
for the display of the spirit of true brotherhood. Truly, this 
educational field is a vast one, and the soil is rich enough to 
well repay the philanthropic efforts of those who have become 
so vastly better off in material wealth through the development 
of the natural resources of a new country, and through the toil, 
skill, and living needs of the masses. 

The voice of human nature is heard crying throughout this 
large area of North America, for human sympathy in supplying 
this educational and social want. It is the cry of the many 
millions of this most enlightened Nation, composed of the 
descendents of Japhet, Shem, and Ham, whom "God hath made 
of one blood," for to dwell happily together; and who can thus 
dwell together, if only the spirit of true brotherhood be fostered 
and expanded. 

The profession of the civil engineer is a noble one from a 
material standpoint, as it is "the art of directing the great 
sources of power in nature for the use and convenience of man, 
as the means of production, and of traffic in states both for ex- 
ternal and internal trade, as applied in the construction of roads, 
bridges, canals, river navigation, and docks, for internal inter- 
course, and exchange, and in the construction of ports, harbors, 
breakwaters, and lighthouses, and in the art of navigation by 
artificial power for the purposes of commerce, and in the con- 
struction and adaptation of machinery, and in the drainage of 
cities and towns, and in the development and working of the 
mineral deposits of the earth." So, also, is the work of the 
true scientist, philanthropist, and public educator, a noble one, 
for in it lies the art of developing, directing, and elevating the 

11 



spiritual and intellectual faculties of man through which he can 
best attain a happier, a healthier, and a more humane earthly 
existence. 

The more popular view of this highest social attribute in 
man will kill the demon of greed, will conquer many material 
evils in earth-life with the good instincts of the spiritual side 
of man, and will correct the faults of the ignorant ideas of so- 
cialism. 

Utopian though they be, those lines of Macaulfcy will ever 
evoke true human sympathy in the heart of the Nation: 

"Then none were for a party: 
Then all were for the state: 
Then the great man helped the poor; 
And the poor man loved the great." 

At this season of the year, and in this new century, the old 
Christmas Glee "Peace on Earth; Good Will to Man," should 
find more humane expression and more fraternal action; and in 
no other civilized nation than in the United States can it find 
a more humane choir, or a more cosmopolitan orchestra. 
Catholic human love, and not charity, is the desire of the intel- 
ligent, and hardworking masses, who are making the Nation 
so famed and respected throughout the world. Let all, who 
are able, do their utmost to forward the best form of human 
wisdom, and the best understanding of it, by helping the young 
and old brotherhood and sisterhood to learn more from nature, 
in which "they live, move, and have their being." 

Father Spirit and Mother Nature are man's best guides. 
They offer him no dogmas, and no superstition, unworthy of 

12 



his high nature, if that be properly understood. It is suggested 
that the time is ripe for the establishment in the United States 
of a great national and philanthropic itinerant form of educa- 
tion for the rural population, which form about 52 per cent of 
the entire population. The Urban and Semi-urban population, 
which form about 48 per cent, being so much more in touch 
with one another, have now superior educational advantages 
over the rural, who, being more scattered, are liable to be left, 
more or less, out of the educational mind and movement. 

In the Eacific Coast states the rural population form the 
backbone of the industry and commonwealth, which keeps the 
country so prosperous. It is suggested for the benefit of this 
community that a plan be devised by which this scattered popu- 
lation may derive better educational advantages, and which can 
be readily fostered by the Federal Government, by each state 
legislature, by the principal universities and colleges throughout 
the country; by the multi-millionaires, and by the many fra- 
ternal societies and associations. Such a plan could follow the 
lines adopted by the Church-Car-Mission. This Mission, through 
the help of Rockefeller and others, has its well furnished 
cars, seating 160 people, with its ministers, travelling all 
through the country, stopping for a week or more at a time, 
at way-side stations, so long as the community show interest 
therein. The various railroads haul these cars free of charge, 
and allow them to stand on a dead siding. 

In the same way, properly designed and fitted Lecture-Cars, 
with competent teachers of natural history and scientific sub- 
jects, could furnish the rural population with a vast amount 

13 



of useful information, which would be greatly appreciated, and 
would enhance the wellbeing, and the intellectual faculties of 
those who have the field, the forest, the mine, and the sea for 
their spheres of industrial life. A dozen of such itinerating 
Lecture-Cars, within the confines of the United States, could 
be built, equipped, and maintained at a comparatively small 
annual expense; and the results would be highly beneficial to 
the rural population, and to the Nation. 




14 



Population of United States — Census 1900 



United States 

California . . . 

Idaho 

Nevada 

Oregon 

Washington . 

Totals. . . 



Total 

(6,148,576 



City-Urban I % Rural % 

36,620,178 48.1 39,528,398 I 51.9 



Pacific Coast States 



1,485,053 

161,772 

42,335 

413,583 

518,103 



868,447 
35,428 
i 9,314 
183,610 
270,447 



58.5 

21.9 

22. 

44.4 

52.2 



2,620,849 1,367,246 I 39.8 



616,606 
126,344 
33,021 
229,926 
247,656 



41.5 

78.1 

78. 

55.6 

47.8 



1,253,553 60.2 



Education Statistics— Census 1900 



Children Attending Public Schools in United States: 



Under 5 years of age, 0.3 per cent of total attendance. 
5 to 9 " " 31.9 
10 to 14 " " 48.3 
15 to 17 " " 14.4 
18 to 20 " " 3.9 

21 and over, 1.2 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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